There would be 3 guys for 2 everyday positions. I’d sell Lucroy on being the “primary” catcher, and that he could count on 100 starts behind the plate. Then he could also get 20 games at DH which gets him the 500 PA he’s used to while also saving his body some wear and tear. McCann can get 60 games at catcher plus 20 at DH and 40 at 1B. Gattis gets 120 g at DH. Basically they can get all 12 position players to 120 games and 500 PA so everybody can be an “everyday player”.
I'd take a pass on Lucroy and spend that money on another reliever. Lucroy will be 32 this season, which is getting old for a catcher (and we already have one old catcher for this coming season). He is coming off one of the worst years of his career. I don't believe he is much of an upgrade, if any, over McCann. I assume he's looking for a 4 year deal. Castro, who is probably the most comparable free agent from last year, got a 3 year deal worth $24M. He was 29 when he signed with the Twins, and didn't have the historical production of Lucroy. So I'd guess Lucroy will be looking for over $10M/year, roughly.
It’s all about value of course. If Lucroy wants a 4 year deal I suspect he will have a hard time finding it and if he does it won’t be with Houston. Lucroys defense sets his floor pretty high; barring an unlikely age-related crash (worse than normal), he’ll be worth $8-10M/yr over the next 2-3 years even if his hitting doesn’t come back. But if he returns to what he was just 2 short years ago he’s a $20M/yr player. I would be happy with Lucroy at $38M/3yrs or less. Anything 4+ yrs or more than $50M carries too much risk.
Agree on the value point, but I value him quite a bit less. There were a lot of articles last year regarding how Lucroy's defense had fallen off dramatically (linking one article below). Unless he rebounds, I'm not sure he is an upgrade over Stassi defensively. http://www.wfaa.com/sports/on-the-jarring-decline-of-jonathan-lucroy/453694940
None of the articles I’ve read including that one had a very convincing explanation for his decline. There’s speculation about injury, age, being in a contract year, etc., but nothing concrete. And even as awful as his 2017 he was still worth 1.2fWAR, which at $8M/war is $10M.
Not sure this really means a lot, but it’s definitely interesting knowing that we at least engaged them in trade talks.
Ramos was taken #19 in the draft last year. I am sure the Marlins were not able to eat the amount of money that the Astros expected. If the Cardinals and Giants really are going to pay $250,000,000 of his $285,000,000 remaining salary......... good luck.
Yup. Most of them are not "great" prospects, but they are likely solid big league players. I guess that is what $35,000,000 - $45,000,000 is worth at this point. If it happens, then it is a solid return for the Marlins if they rebuild.
Let this be a lesson to MLB Owners...Don't let there be an opt out in a contract for a player you might trade. Either that, or sell team and let poor unsuspecting saps have to deal with it.
Yep. Very consistent with the rumors that Stanton's contract is basically what he's worth. The money is just to buy the prospects.
Lol. What if he wasn't going to sign without it? They wanted to get him under contract..he knew his value as a UFA. If they let him walk because of the opt out, that'd be even worse for the Marlins
Then don't sign him. Stanton is not the only baseball player for which they can spend money, and it isn't like he got them to 0.500. Right now, they have a guy coming off an MVP season (best case scenario) and all they can get for him is letting another team have him and the opportunity to buy some good not great prospects for 45 MM dollars. Marlins will be really lucky if Stanton waives his NTC and goes to SF for that package. Winning nearly 80 games in three seasons is not worth what may happen to that franchise if Stanton doesn't waive his NTC for anyone, but LA. If you sign a player with an opt out, you better make sure you have the money to pay for it as they are hard to trade.
Ugh. That's so hard to stomach though when you're a franchise that will have trouble attracting FAs and you have one right in front of you. I get what you're saying, but tey are getting some sort of return for him at least...which is better than the UFA loss scenario. And I don't know if the NTC is the only thing holding them back from getting much more value... I think it has a lot more to do with questions around Stanton's health (for short-term returns, even on the 3 years he has pre-opt out), and his mechanics long-term (questions as to whether his swing will age well as his power and athleticism decline).
Marlins will come out ahead of this deal in the long run. Stanton is entering his 9th season and has only played more than 145 games 3 times in his career. The Marlins are selling high. If by some miracle Stanton stays healthy and mashes for the next 3 years he will opt out after he sees players like Bryce Harper get mega deals. If Stanton stinks or continues to have injury problems then you are stuck paying him for another 8 years if he opts in after 2020. Now if you got him to waive his opt out (not going to happen) and got the Marlins to pay enough so his salary was close to 20 million a year than I might be interested. However, that would cost your top prospects and no way Stanton gives up the opt out.
Budgets are hard to stomach. Small market teams have enough trouble competing without having to pay players on other teams. The right to have Stanton for three non-playoff years likely means they have a significant debt for them that may or not come due in one of the small playoff windows they have. It is crazy that the reigning NL MVP isn't easily tradeable for prospects without needing to throw in cash.
From our friends at AstrosCounty ... The 1976 Cincinnati Reds team was ... the Big Red Machine. Quite Impressive.
